Lamar had been analyzing his readouts and exclaimed in a moment of excitement. "R'iia's shorts!" He looked at Lyla and grinned. This was so different it was a bit unnerving. He then said, "The nebula is predominantly ice!"

Lyla was less enthused, mainly because she was approaching this problem like a scout, focusing on the practicalities. Solving a problem was as much about the journey as the destination. 'Is it? I thought the Drift was all dust and gases?' she queried, checking the sensors. 'And how can we split the water molecules? Electrolysis won't work, we can't run a current through vacuum. Maybe radiation or heat? Can we even make enough?' She was asking questions, raising problems, trying to prompt the team toward a solution.

"Well, our atmospheric converters and water processors basically do the job, just in reverse. we just need to build up something similar. It's basic engineering." Lamar said. "The only limiting factors are time and parts and do we want to include the Gold? Since the gold interacting with us could tip our hand if anyone spots us."

"Good idea" added Klyn on the com.

"I dare say this situation is exceptional enough to join forces. And it would reduce the time we stay here, so less chances of being spotted."

'Basic?' Lyla echoed, doubting it would be basic engineering to her. Still, she understood the basic science, and it was a plan, or looked like one anyway.

'A Star Dragon interacting with us will tip our hand if anyone's spots us.' she repeated with emphasis to Lamar. 'We're past worrying about our cover now... Klyn, bring the Gold in.' she added on the comms. 'Let's get to work. I'll try to figure out how friend out there intends to ingest this stuff.' Just because the Duinuogwuin wanted oxygen didn't necessarily mean it breathed the stuff. It might eat it, drink it, snort it, or absorb it through pores in its hide. Anything was possible with a space-borne lifeform.


OOC:
15:46, Today: Lyla Rahn rolled 27 using 1d20+10. knowledge: life sciences.

A search of the cargo bay on the Wayfarer revealed it was empty. Lamar was quick to seize on the idea of using the life support systems onboard the Wayfarer to juryrig some oxygen generating tech. The principle was to split the carbon dioxide within the icy water particles to gain the valuable life-saving oxygen.

 

The plan involved the two starships getting into position and extending a docking tube and the attached life support systems so that the star dragon could feed off the oxygen. It all took time and thankfully there was no interruptions. Was it quick enough to save the odd creature however?

 

In position and with oxygen being created and then fed to the star dragon they waited. After a few minutes the eyes on the creature cleared and it raised it’s head. In a deep and majestic voice it rumbled “thank you, kind travellers. My name is Star Wing. I live on the far side of this dust cloud and was trying to cross it, but I was slowly starving from lack of oxygen. You have saved my life”

“Allow me to breathe in the oxygen for a few moments more, my throat is dry and I must breathe slowly.”

Klyn liked working on something very 'mundane' and mechanical.
He was still not over the strange communication with the creature when it spoke.

It spoke!

He had never heard something so big could do that!

What he thought was some kind of huge, wonderful space whale proved to be an incredible sentient being.

He was a loss for words.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:00, Wed 28 Oct 2020.

While Lamar and Klyn worked on the mechanics of producing and supplying oxygen, Lyla focused on how it would get into the Duinuogwuin, by examining what she could of its exotic anatomy and biology. So little was known about Duinuogwuins, this information would be invaluable to galactic science – if she wasn't a self-taught street-kid working in secret from within the Rebel Alliance. Maybe, one day, when the war was over and the Empire gone, she could return to her old life as a ranger and tell everything she'd learned. Well, she could dream.

But the problem with scientific examination of a legend was that it became a little less legendary. With factual knowledge, some of the wonder rubbed off, the Star Dragon became just a Duinuogwuin, a different kind of creature in a different kind of environment. But Lyla didn't need Star Dragons and Force magic to appreciate the galaxy around her; natural beauty and the adaptability of nature were wondrous in their own right.

At last, the oxygen was flowing, and Lyla waited anxiously, hoping this had worked, hoping they weren't too late and hadn't made some fatal mistake. Then, as this Star Wing spoke, somehow, Lyla breathed a deep sigh of relief. 'Ah, sure. Take what you need, we can wait.' she offered. She had a lot of questions, but didn't want to pressure it. Creatures in vacuum probably weren't used to pressure.

Lyla turned to Lamar and the communicator to Klyn. 'Good work, both of you.' She'd had her problems with Lamar earlier, but he'd prove himself in her eyes now.

Revived Star Wing took a few further moments to breathe in the oxygen and drink the water offered by Lyla. When it’s thirst was sated the Star Wing released the docking tube and stretched its wings. One of the wings was badly damaged but Star Wing made no mention of the handicap.

 

”Many thanks to you all. I would have perished had you not stopped to aid me. I am in your favour and perhaps our paths will cross again. I must now go look for a planet so that I may rest” the voice of the Duinuogwuin was deep and clear despite the space between them, there was much that was a mystery regarding the legendary creature.

The Star Dragons were legendary and mysterious, and Lyla had so many questions – how did they live and think, where did they roam, what else did they eat or drink or breathe? But, right here and now, all she could think of were the practical needs of life and death and the Rebellion. 'Wait! Do you know about this region of space? Have you seen ships attacking other ships?'


OOC: If needed, Persuasion 12.

"My home is light years away. I have come here to explore. Unfortunately I am a stranger to this region of space and can not repay your kindness with knowledge"

'Okay, not a problem.' Lyla accepted. That was probably to be expected, and it had been a long shot anyway. In any case, she could maybe help out Star Wing some more. 'It's just that there are some space pirates attacking shipping around here that we're trying to stop. You should watch out for them.'

Lamar stood at the entrance to the dock and puzzled at the Star Dragon. It was a large creature, but it was intelligent and lived in space. It had the ability to speak of a sorts. Nothing about it made sense. All the other space born creatures were no more than animals. Why was the Star Dragon sentient. It seemed a lonely existence when there were so few to speak to. And even fewer of it's own kind to speak to. So why had it developed the ability to talk? He didn't know ant this was frustrating to him. Since he could usually puzzle out these things.

Still not fully wrapping his head around all that, Klyn couldn't help but to ask
"What happened to your wing?"

'I'm talking with a huge sentient space creature of legends... never expected that when I enlisted in the rebellion'

”My thanks for your warning. I am tired and must rest. I will search for a planet where I may sleep, I will be careful to avoid any pirates on my way there” the dragon answered Lyla, then turning to leave Star Wing was stalled by Klyn’s question “ah, I am not sure. I thought I had the stamina to cross The Drift but when I knew my breath was running out I placed myself in a hibernation trance. I must have taken the injury whilst I was sleeping, perhaps an asteroid or another creature. The wound will slow me down but not stop me. It should heal with rest” the dragon, tired looking was then ready to depart.

 

OOC Let me know if there’s more you want to do with Star Dragon otherwise he will go to find somewhere to sleep.

Lyla around at the faces of her team, both here in the Wayfarer cockpit and via the comms screen on the Alabak's Gold. When it seemed like no one had anything new to say, and Star Wing really want to go away and rest, Lyla answered 'Oh, good. Well, we hope you have a safe trip and a good rest. Get well soon!' It sounded like rubbish, but what did you say to a mythical space dragon? Star Wing didn't seem like a pompous legendary creature anyway. She waved a farewell to the screen, wondering if the gesture had any meaning either.

While the dragon slowly flew away, Klyn used the scanners to check for anything he could have left. Maybe some scale, or some frozen blood.

He wanted to have a little something to remember the incredible meeting. He had, of course, taken some pictures and filmed a few things. But it was not the same.

Lamar waved at the dragon and then moved off to the cockpit. He still needed to get things ready for their, probably now blown, operation. As he sat in the pilot's seat, he checked the readouts for damage, as they had just docked with a rather large creature and had no docking clamps to do so. So while he was sure there was no major damage, minor things could have happened during the procedure, and minor problems became major problems when you don't take care of them.

After aiding Star Wing the Rebels continued their journey. The Wanderer jumped into hyperspace then it was followed by the Alabak's Gold. Both ships successful completed another small hyperspace jump and began their second.

All was going well. Lamar and Rynn had the Wayfarer under control then suddenly mid-hyperspace jump the ship shook violently and shuddered with a loud thump. The hyperdrive alarm alerted the crew to urgent action. The ship had begun to rock as unsecured objects where hurled about. The starlines of hyperspace abruptly shifted to revert to the pinpoints of stars as the starship returned unexpectedly into realspace. The Wayfarer pitched to the left uncontrollably as the ship reverberated.

Outside, seen in the viewports, a huge container vessel fled into a stellar gas cloud. A smaller ship, a space barge lingered in the distance, whilst four Skipray blastboats raced in at top speed. The Wayfarer was still out of control when they began to open fire.

For Klyn onboard the Alabak's Gold following behind, the ship's computer alerted him to a hyperspace anomaly, a huge unexpected gravity mass ahead, the computer cautioned Klyn to alter the course immediately to evade any danger.

OOC Entering space combat for the crew of the Wayfarer. For the Alabak's Gold its time to evade the trap or fly blindly into it.

'Show time!' Lyla shouted as all hell broke loose, the entirely expected ambush still something of a surprise when they didn't know the when and the where. She grabbed hold of whatever and tried not to get thrown over and bang her tails.

When she recovered enough, she ran over fallen junk and got into the gunnery seat, powering up and trying to get lined up. 'It's that container ship! One left the scene of the last attack too.'


OOC: Can we still communicate with the Gold? Or would that give them away?

OOC Whilst the Alabak's Gold is in hyperspace you won't be able to communicate with them through technology, other means may be possible.

The plan was to 'let them be caught and follow'.
So when the alarm started screaming,Klyn did his best to allow a new point of exit not too far from the supposed trap location.

Close enough they could intervene should things get dire, but far enough not to be noticed (or at least not too quickly).

"Interdiction field!" Lamar shouted as they transitioned to real space. "But I don't see the Interdictor." He said a minute later. "Do you think it's inside the container ship? Those suckers are really big, I think it would be too big for that ship."

Lamar hadn't been idle while talking though, he had been quickly getting the ship set for maneuvers. Checking that being ripped out of hyperspace hadn't destroyed anything, and generally getting ready for the attack.

Though he didn't show it his fear had spiked. Interdiction fields were never seen outside of Imperial control, and that was a sure sign that this was really an Imperial operation. Going against a simple pirate crew was one thing, but if these weren't pirates, they would be Imp Special Services. And those guys were not a simple job.

"LT. This may be harder than we thought." He said with a worried tone.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 16:50, Tue 10 Nov 2020.

To make an emergency exit from hyperspace into realspace was a difficult manoeuvre and one that required complicated astronavigation mathematics. It wouldn't be so big a problem if Klyn hadn't been in a rush with the ship's klaxon's alerting him to the danger. Klyn punched in the coordinates and with a judder the Alabak's Gold dropped out of hyperspace, in fact only a short distance from the Wayfarer.

The blastboats were closing in fast with the Wayfarer. Lamar quickly identified the cause of the trap, an artificial gravity well projector. Something that Lamar estimated could have been carried on the huge container vessel.

OOC Roll Initiative. Pirates rolled 16. Higher than 16 and you can act first. Remember Wayfarer has -8 Initiative modifier. Alabak's Gold -9.

Range from Wayfarer is

Blastboats at range 20 sq

Barge at range 50 sq

Gas Cloud 100 sq

(Alabak's Gold is an additional 30 squares away)

'It's big when you wrap a Star Destroyer around it. Could be just a component?' Lyla shrugged, having neither the knowledge nor the time to get into the engineering of it. Right now, it was tactics. 'But it's no coincidence, it's got to be something onboard – they're leaving to protect it! So let's hit 'em where it hurts! Can we pursue that container ship?' she asked, eager to take the lead on the enemy for once.

'And it's always harder than we thought.' she added grimly, before firing off a proton torpedo at the blastboats. She missed, but with a torpedo blast, she hoped she didn't need to be accurate for once.


OOC: Initiative 9
Fire torpedo!
Attack 3, damage 80, 4-square splash
Far Shot: reduce long range to medium range for torpedos, -5 attack
This message was last edited by the player at 08:24, Thu 12 Nov 2020.